Renewables

Every April my garden explodes with color and vibrancy, a newfound life after the doldrums and dormancy of winter. I’ve planted a lot of perennials, so other than raking, weeding, and mulching, I don’t have much to do (!) as startup work for the garden to be beautiful, year after year. Nature’s renewable spirit plus the mix of longer days/more light and April showers propels all that gorgeous vegetation up and out of the ground.

Renewables are nature’s way of sustaining itself with the least amount of work. There is a newly growing field which champions renewables called circular economy. Circular economy wants to get away from the linear economy matrix of “take, make, dispose” and instead focus on reuse, renewal and regeneration.

In a circular economy mindset, waste is designed out of a product at its inception so at each stage of the product’s lifespan, that product may be reused or refurbished — much like upcycling — and put to yet another use, sometimes more than one. The concept of a circular economy comes from nature herself. Mother Earth, that grand lady, doesn’t waste a thing and neither should we.

This is the season of renewal. Take a look around and, without buying a new product, see how you can make your surroundings fresh and new. Got stuff to go to Goodwill? Bag it and drop it off. I’m sure someone can use that wool sweater you haven’t worn for three seasons. Do you have furniture stored in the basement that you won’t ever use again (I do, but my kids want it and they’re still in college!). Pass it along. This goes for any item that you haven’t used in ages (sentimental ones get a buy), but it can also be done with your entire living space. You really don’t need a toaster oven and a toaster, do you? If not, pass one along to a local women’s shelter.

We should be doing the same thing as a nation. Wind, solar, hydroelectric, these are all regenerative and renewable power sources, yet the governments and the corporations of the world have been slow to develop them. Why? We all know why, so let’s not bother to even ask the question of why they’ve chosen to bring us to the brink of extinction, but instead, let’s focus on how to fix things because – really — there’s no time for anything else.

There are some in the U.S. Congress who want to do this, a Green New Deal they are calling it, but they are being thwarted by the status quo. Should we sit idly by and let that happen? Or should we all get involved in helping to formulate a plan because a few dozen or even a few hundred people, leaders or no, are not going to be able to solve this ginormous problem on their own. Something of this magnitude requires a commitment from everyone; the only way we can ever tackle the larger than life problems is by starting in our own backyards.

We are renewable beings. Some cells regenerate in a matter of months, others take years, but during the course of our lifetimes, our cells are regenerating and renewing, much like the flowers in my garden, again and again. As part of nature, we are wired for renewal, so let’s live in harmony with it the way God intended.

20 Responses to Renewables

Love the color here! You’re reminding me I do have some seeds I can attempt to plant if I could rake up all the weeds. 🙂 Thank you for reminding us we can be more than just living for the now, but for the future! xxxxxxx

Gorgeous photos!
I did a bit of “cleaning” in December: I took old toys, books, etc. and gave it to friends who were expecting a baby (apparently I’m the best aunt ever — even though nothing was really baby-stuff). I’m planning on “cleaning” like this again in June: I’ve already taken evening clothes, shoes, jewellery, etc. out of their hidey-holes and will be donating them for a good cause during a function I’m hosting on June 1 (all news in my newsletter!) and I’m getting my guests to do the same (even if it’s only one item).
If I’m not using it, not learning from it and not enjoying it, I’m giving it to someone who can.

The Green New Deal has been in the news the last few days especially. Your garden is beautiful Pam – I love those bleeding hearts. I used to have a perennial garden and it was a butterfly garden but lost most of my perennials and some bushes due to the polar vortex a few years ago – I’ve not checked my roses yet this year after we had that wicked Polar Vortex this past Winter.

Thanks, Linda. Sorry about your garden. I had bunches of roses in my last house, planted by the previous owner, but I couldn’t get myself to put all the stuff on them that you need to keep them beautiful so they looked more like wild roses.

I have “Home Run” roses and I was amazed they came back after the really bad Polar Vortex about 4-5 years ago. They looked dead as a doornail and I listed to a gardening show on Saturday afternoons – I had broken off a stem, dry inside. Figured they were goners. Others called in with the same issue. The horticulturist said to cut them to a foot from the ground (broke my heart as they higher than the cyclone fence) and put Miracle-Gro on them. I did that on Memorial Day weekend and by 4th of July they were thriving! If you want to grow roses down the road, Jackson & Perkins “Knockout Roses” are resilient, disease resistant and easy to grow. People grow them like a hedge. After my mom passed away, I always wanted a climbing rose, so ordered “Stairway to Heaven” from Jackson & Perkins’ catalog plus an umbrella-shaped trellis. I ordered three to make it full as I don’t like skimpy-looking rose bushes and that thing had black spot over and over again. I spent a small fortune treating it and finally yanked it out for good.

Hi Pam … we need to take care of life as a whole – be supportive of ourselves, people and then the earth on which we can only survive. Reuse, renewal and regeneration – there was a lot of that during and after the War – as a family we did it … and now I don’t have new of everything and make do …

We all need to practice at home all the time … then our world would be cleaner, less profligate …

Thanks for this – love the idea of reuse, renewal and regeneration … the three R’s … cheers Hilary

Yes, I think people, at least in developed countries, have forgotten what it’s like to not have things and have to reuse by necessity so they overuse instead. Someday I hope we all find the right balance. Thanks for stopping by, Hilary. Cheers and happy day. xo

my comment yesterday clearly did not go through – worrying, as it this has happened with a few other A-Z posts I commented on. But firstly, gorgeous photos! I heard something interesting the other day – Nature doesn’t dig, we don’t need to either – let the leaves fall and it becomes mulch and protection etc. Obviously to continue with raking weeding etc.
Isn’t that so amazing that we renew, everything does – such energy in that … Thanks Pam, great post!

I’ve had some weird non-connection issues with your blog before, too, Susan. Who knows what’s up? Maybe the satellites that our words are bouncing off of had a brain-freeze for a moment. Anyway, here’s to renewal. May your day be grand. xo

“We are renewable beings. Some cells regenerate in a matter of months, others take years, but during the course of our lifetimes, our cells are regenerating and renewing, much like the flowers in my garden, again and again. As part of nature, we are wired for renewal, so let’s live in harmony with it the way God intended.”

~ So true, Pam! I’ve learned so much about the nature of our lives from interacting with the plants in my garden. We ARE a part of nature. I think that we’ve either forgotten or neglected that intimate connection.

Ha! Yes well the old land can do somethings still… I enjoyed the spectacle of disruptive protestors thanking the police and the police dancing with them while chaos reined. Paris uses tear gas and pepper spray and we have politicians moaning. Yep I know which I prefer..

Oh yes, a little moaning is ultimately much better than pepper spray in the face. The idea of police dancing with the protestors is just too divine. Life sounds like it’s a lot more fun over there, Geoff.